The present invention relates to a connector which is mated with a mating connector upon transmission or reception of electric power. In addition, the present invention relates to a connector assembly comprising the connector and the mating connector. For example, the mating connector is an inlet provided in an electric vehicle (EV), and the connector is a plug.
For example, this type of connector is disclosed in JP A 2013-93149 (Patent Document 1), the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Referring to FIGS. 32 and 33, Patent Document 1 discloses a connector 900 comprising a connector body 910, a case 920, a holding member 930, a lock member 940 and a slider 950. The case 920 accommodates the connector body 910 so that the connector body 910 is movable along a predetermined direction indicated by an arrow. The holding member 930 holds the case 920 so that the case 920 is movable along the predetermined direction. The lock member 940 locks the case 920 to prevent a movement of the case 920 relative to the holding member 930. The slider 950 projects outward from the case 920 under an unmated state where the connector 900 is not mated with a mating connector (not shown). When the connector 900 is mated with the mating connector, the mating connector pushes and moves the slider 950 into the case 920. The thus-moved slider 950 moves the lock member 940 to unlock the case 920, so that the case 920 can be moved relative to the holding member 930. As can be seen from the above description, the slider 950 is used for detection of the mated state.
The slider 950 of the connector 900 disclosed in Patent Document 1 can be pushed to be moved even under the unmated state where the connector 900 is not mated with the mating connector. If the slider 950 is unintentionally pushed under the unmated state, the mated state might be incorrectly detected.